Statement from Jack M. Greenberg
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, McDonald's Corporation

FBI Arrests Suspected Criminal Ring Charged With Stealing High Level McDonald's Game Prizes

Today's arrests are a powerful reminder that McDonald's will never let anything get between us and our customers. Customer confidence is at the very heart of McDonald's business.

When the FBI first contacted us, we were shocked and stunned. However, we agreed immediately to cooperate fully with the FBI in an effort to ensure our customer interests were protected. And today, we're pleased to see this objective accomplished. We are proud of the role McDonald's played in this investigation, and pleased that no McDonald's employees were involved in any way. The FBI has made it clear that McDonald's was betrayed by a long-time supplier in a highly sophisticated inside game of fraud and deception. We are delighted that the perpetrators were arrested today.

On behalf of McDonald's, our franchisees, employees and customers, we want to thank the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Department of Justice for their extraordinary work. In piecing together this challenging case, this federal law enforcement team has earned our heartfelt thanks for the arrest of this criminal ring. Moreover, we recognize that this investigation is ongoing, and McDonald's has pledged its continued cooperation and support to the FBI's efforts.

Let me underscore one important point. Millions of McDonald's customers legitimately won prizes over the years, from free food and drinks to cash and merchandise. We now know, however, that this criminal enterprise has been charged with stealing many of the highest value prizes from our customers…and that is completely unacceptable. To right this wrong, we are announcing today the opportunity for McDonald's customers to win prizes valued at $10 million between August 30 through September 3 in a McDonald's Instant Give-Away.

McDonald's is committed to giving our customers a chance to win every dollar that has been stolen by this criminal ring. This initial $10 million give-away is the first important step towards fulfilling this commitment. When the FBI concludes its investigation and ultimately determines the total amount stolen, we will announce plans to give our customers an opportunity to win any additional dollars taken.

Finally, we want to emphasize again that McDonald's will do whatever it takes to ensure the integrity of our brand, our restaurants and the trust of our customers.

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